Mana Cookies from The Wizard’s Dessert Cookbook

Posted October 8, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

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Hi, folks! As I celebrate the release of my new cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, I’m taking the opportunity to share recipes from other fiction food cookbooks as well. Today’s recipe is from THE WIZARD’S DESSERT COOKBOOK by Aurélia Beaupommier. With Halloween just around the corner, Aurélia’s book is just what I needed to get me in the mood for mysterious, magical, fantastical food!

When I first opened THE WIZARD’S DESSERT COOKBOOK, I expected to find references to pop culture staples like Harry Potter and D&D. This book has a lot to offer in that regard, but the recipes I appreciated most came from less obvious sources, like Baba Yaga, Stardust, Nostradamus, and Inkheart. I could see Aurélia did a lot of research to ensure her book was a comprehensive resource, and although there’s plenty of spooky food, she doesn’t confine herself to a Halloween theme. There are lots of magical foods perfect for Christmas, birthdays, or even game nights! I had difficulty choosing between so many delicious recipes…that is, until I came across one inspired by Magic: The Gathering.

When I saw Aurélia’s recipe for Mana Cookies, I knew I had to make them. My husband was a big fan of Magic: The Gathering when he was growing up, and his current D&D group references Magic in their gameplay often. In fact, since he and his friends are more familiar with the Magic aesthetic than I am, I asked them for feedback on my photos for this post to make sure they fit the game’s style. However, I wasn’t JUST interested in this recipe because of it’s source; I was also intrigued by the flavor profile. It uses ground anise, which I’ve never used in a cookie before and was eager to try out.

Guys, I had SO MUCH FUN making these cookies! The dough takes on color well, rolls without much tearing, and produces a positively delicious lightly spiced sugar cookie. The texture of the dough was different from what I’m used to working with—crumbly at first, almost like pastry dough—but I got used to it pretty quickly. I’m definitely making these again, maybe even without dye. I could see them becoming a perfect Christmas cookie by upping the spice level and decorating with seasonal stamps!

A

Mana Cookies from The Wizard’s Dessert Cookbook

“It’s best to be well-prepared before entering a Magic card tournament. Build a coherent and devastatingly powerful deck that will level your enemies, but don’t forget to bring along a few victuals to snack on between matches! Take out your bento box and fill it with these small cookies that match the mana colors in the game.”

— The Wizard’s Dessert Cookbook

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz (170 g) butter
2 pinches vanilla powder (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
2 pinches star anise powder
2 pinches cinnamon
7 oz granulated sugar (200 g, around 3/4 cup)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
12 oz flour (340 g, around 2 1/4 cups)
Food coloring powder or gel food coloring (red, blue, green, and black)

Makes 20 cookies

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the butter and spices including vanilla to a small pot. Brown the butter. The book doesn’t give specific instructions for this step, but the following worked well for me: cut butter into tablespoons, add seasonings to pot, heat on medium for about 5 minutes while swirling constantly, transfer to bowl to prevent burning.
2. Add the brown butter to a large bowl with the sugar, egg, egg yolk, and flour. Stir with a fork until mostly combined, then knead together with your hands until fully incorporated. This dough might feel crumbly like pie dough, but don’t worry—it becomes softer and more pliable as you work with it.
3. Separate the dough into 5 balls of equal size and put each in a separate bowl. My dough came out to about 26 oz, so I made balls that were 5.2 oz in size. Knead 2 pinches of food coloring powder into each dough ball until fully incorporated, leaving the last ball without coloring (this will be the white mana).
4. NOTE: If using gel coloring, use 5 drops of color per bowl. I found the best way to incorporate gel color without getting it all over my hands was to crumble up the dough ball into fine pieces, add the dye, stir it in with a spoon as much as possible, then do the remaining mixing by kneading. I used gel because my local stores don’t carry powdered coloring, but if using the gel method, keep in mind that the finished cookies might be less tender since you spend more time working the dough.
5. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 360°F (NOT 350°) or 180°C, thermostat 6.
7. Remove the white dough from the fridge and roll it out to 1/5-inch thickness. You may need to knead the dough a bit to make it pliable and lightly flour it before rolling to prevent sticking. With a round cookie cutter—I used a 2.5-inch cutter—cut out 4 cookies. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Using a knife or other decorating tool, draw a large “W” on each cookie. I used the end of a chopstick and a firm tapping motion.
8. Repeat with remaining dough, drawing the first letter of the corresponding color into each cookie.
9. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
10. Serve to a dueling wizard to renew his stores of magic!
  
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  For more fictional food, check out my new cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK! 🙂 It includes full menus of food for Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Years, including recipes for delectable gifts you can give your guests!